


Frontline

by disasterbiKirito



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Fic, Bass Player Alice, Drummer Klein, Fanboy Eugeo, I'll tag as I go, Kirito is a clueless bi disaster but we love him, Lead Guitar Asuna, Lead Singer Kirito, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24638296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/pseuds/disasterbiKirito
Summary: Until now, Eugeo's always been too busy with work to go to his best friend's concerts. But after he gets a glimpse of their lead singer dressed head to toe in black, he'll make sure he never misses another!
Relationships: Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	Frontline

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has actually been brewing in my head for about three years, it originally started as a DC Batfamily boy band idea, and morphed into this mess.  
> I hope that you enjoy!

“Oh, come on Eugeo!” Alice begged, as she hopped up onto my desk. “I really want you to come to this one; it’s our biggest show, and it’s the last one we’ve got before the B.o.B starts next month!”

The old desk creaked under her weight, and I waved my hands frantically.

“Would you please behave? And get off of that stack of papers!” I pleaded.

But it was too late; I put my face in my hands dramatically as she slid off of the desk, sending the stack of work fluttering to the ground. I let out an annoyed breath and bent over to try to collect all of it quickly before any of it got ruined. Looking up, I was met with a disappointed look from Alice, and a pang of guilt hit my chest.

In all this time, I’d never made it to any of her practices or shows because my father was always pushing me to work harder and longer so that I could get the experience needed to take over the family business. So, I gave her the most reassuring smile that I could manage.

“Look, I know this is important to you, so, I’m going to do my best to get all of this work done in time to be there, but at the moment, I’m neck-deep in data. My boss is really pushing me to get all of this entered by the end of the day tomorrow. My supervisor said something about one of our clients coming in early next week for an audit because they’re doubting our productivity, so, in reality, she’s actually pushing for tomorrow morning, but I’m not even sure that _that’s_ possible…”

I spun around in my chair to look back at what I had been working on and noted that my eye was starting to water from the hours I’d already spent staring at the screen today. Maybe a short coffee break was in order.

“What if I helped you finish?” she asked me hopefully.

I got up and stretched before making my way into my small kitchen.

“I appreciate the offer,” I called back to her, as I pulled out a Keurig pod and found my favorite light blue mug. “But we’ve been over that. You don’t work with me, and no one would ever find out, but that’s still sensitive information, and I’m supposed to be the only person looking at it.”

I heard her let out a pout from the other room.

“I’m already taking enough risk bringing all of these papers home. If my boss found out, I’m sure she would ‘appreciate the initiative’ but then fire me anyway.”

I finger quoted the last bit to myself for emphasis even though she couldn’t see me. I jumped as she suddenly appeared in the doorway.

“Well, in that case!” she exclaimed loudly, “I really, really hope you can make it; it’s going to be the biggest venue we’ve played, and it’s going to be awesome!”

I gave her another smile.

“Like I was saying,” I said, as gently as I could, “I’ll do my best; I’m not trying to be rude, but if you really want me there, your best bet is going to be leaving me to my work for the night.”

“That’s actually what I came in here for. I’m on my way out right now, our lead just texted me and said he wants to run one more rep on our new song before tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes at that.

“As if we haven’t already been through it a hundred different times!”

I gave her a hug with one arm as I put a healthy scoop of sugar into my coffee.

“I should know by lunch-time tomorrow if I can make it,” I said. “I’ll shoot you a text. Is that enough time for you to reserve the ticket?”

“Yep! That works for me,” she said, flashing me a big smile. “I understand if you can’t make it, but I’ve got a feeling tomorrow’s show is going to be the best one yet!”

After a few moments, I heard the door make a quick open and close, followed by Alice’s footsteps disappearing down the hall. I was left alone again.

Well, mostly alone, I reminded myself, as I took a small sip from the steaming mug. My bedroom door creaked open, and my cat Rose poked her head out, checking to see if the coast was clear.

“Come here, girl!” I called.

She happily walked over and ran between my legs like a snake, purring happily. A groan escaped my chest as I took another glance at the stack of papers sitting on the desk.

_Oh yeah, it’s going to be a really long night._

* * *

Before noon the next day, I’d somehow managed to finish all of the data and enter it all correctly; my boss was so pleased that she decided to give me the rest of the day off. I’d already sent Alice a quick text letting her know that I would be able to make it to her show, and she’d responded with a string of emojis that I didn’t completely understand, but I assumed it meant that she was excited. She’d also sent me the address and some instructions on how to pick up the ticket she had reserved for me. I was surprised to see that the address wasn’t too far from my apartment.

Smiling, I squeezed my phone into the pocket of my jeans as I made my way into my favorite deli for a quick bite to eat for lunch. I ordered my usual, found a place to sit in the crowded dining area, and played a game on my phone while I waited for my name to be called.

I was just about to beat the level’s boss when I was interrupted by a light tap on my shoulder.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here for a few minutes?”

I looked up from my game to see a young man with jet black hair and dark onyx eyes looking at me expectantly. He wore a white t-shirt covered by a black coat and a pair of black jeans that I couldn’t help but notice that he filled out quite nicely. I felt my temperature spike at the thought.

“Oh—uh—of course! Let me just—” I stammered.

I gathered my belongings off of the table. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Thanks, this place is really crowded!” he said, taking the seat across from me. “I sent in an online order, and I’m just waiting for that to be ready. A friend of mine suggested this place, she said that it was the best shop in the area. Judging by the amount of people in line, it probably holds up!

“I’m Kazuto by the way,” he quickly added, extending his hand to me.

Grinning, I gave him a quick handshake.

“Nice to meet you Kazuto,” I said, with feigned confidence. “I’m Eugeo. Your friend has pretty good taste; this is definitely the best shop around. What kind of meal did you get?”

I mentally slapped myself for such a lame conversation starter, but that momentary panic melted away as his eyes grew twice in size with obvious excitement.

“I ordered an Italian style sandwich with sriracha added for a little extra kick!” he said excitedly. “If you’re going to get something spicy, you might as well go all out; you know what I mean?”

I scrunched up my face at the thought.

“I’m not a huge fan of any nuclear food,” I explained. “I’d rather my food be a little tamer.”

“Kazuto?” the woman at the register suddenly called out, holding up a small paper bag.

He whirled his head towards the sudden noise.

“Ah, sorry to cut you off, but that’s me! I hope I see you around Eugeo!” he said with a wink.

I prayed to whatever gods were watching that my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

“Y-yeah, I hope so!” I managed to get out before he hurried off.

I watched as he walked up to the counter, thanked the woman with a polite bow, and quickly made his way out of the busy restaurant. Looking down at my phone once more, I silently cursed myself. A cute guy comes and talks to me, and all I could think to talk about were the _sandwiches_ of all things…

…and damnit—I hadn’t even asked for his number.

* * *

Around seven o’clock that evening, I found myself staring into my closet.

“What the hell do people even wear to these events?” I groaned, desperately looking over to Rose for help.

 _"Meow!”_ she responded, as if we could actually understand each other. She held her gaze for a few more moments before laying her head back down for her catnap.

 _"_ I looked at myself in the mirror.

I’d already been through a few outfits. I had decided my dress shirt and tie were way too formal for such an occasion, and the few others I’d tried on didn’t seem to work either.

I considered texting Alice and asking, but I knew that she would just laugh at me, and the Google results were—mixed, to say the least. There were a lot of mohawks and spikes; that was not my style.

In the end, I decided on a grey and white striped shirt, covered by a light blue zip-up hoodie and some light brown jeans. After feeding Rose, making sure that everything was turned off, and running one last check on my hair, I was out the door.

The venue was about a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment, and as I walked up, I realized that it wasn’t exactly what I had imagined. I had envisioned some sort of theater setting, but instead I found myself standing outside of a hole-in-the-wall bar aptly named ‘The Rock Box.’ I made my way up to the makeshift box office set-up outside of the doors, gave them my name as Alice had instructed, and, after verifying my age, they snapped an orange wristband onto my wrist and opened the door for me.

The first thing I noticed as I stepped in was that this bar was _much_ bigger than it looked from the outside. To both my left and right, there were crowded bars about fifty feet in length, and between them, a pathway that led to what looked like a dance floor with a raised stage against the opposite wall. I whistled to myself; Alice was right to be excited.

Over to my right, I could see a small stand set-up where they were selling what looked like CDs, various wristbands, and shirts. A slightly older red-haired man with a bandana wrapped around his head was there making a sale to two girls, one with short dark brown hair; the other with long strawberry red locks. I watched with amusement as the brown-haired girl took a shirt from him and bounced up and down excitedly.

On the stage, a few crew members had started walking around checking that all the equipment was working, and a small crowd had already begun forming around them. I glanced down at my watch; there were still fifteen more minutes until show-time. Deciding that Alice wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t front row, I made my way to the bar area.

Leaning against the bar, I glanced down at the laminated menu. Nothing looked particularly tasty, but after a few words with the bartender, I eventually I settled on a hard apple cider. I turned and gave the room another look. I could see dozens of posters lining the wall, the largest being a poster for the Battle of the Bands. It looked like quite the event, with Alice’s band “Frontline” showing in big bold font towards the top. A few minutes later, the busy bartender brought a glass bottle to me and asked if I needed anything else. I shook my head no and took a quick swig, wincing as the unfamiliar taste of alcohol hit my tongue.

“Not your scene, eh?”

I gulped down the bit of drink in my mouth and quickly turned to my left. I hadn’t noticed that the strawberry-haired girl from the merchandise stand had made her way to lean against the bar next to me.

“I’m here with my friend Ronye,” she explained, pointing in the direction of the brown-haired girl, who was now trying to push her way to the front of the crowd. “She’s a complete Frontline fanatic; she’s been a fan of the lead-singer since his days on Youtube.”

She waved her hand at the bartender, who nodded in acknowledgement.

I waited as she ordered some combination of whiskey and soda that I didn’t quite pick up on and turned back to me.

“What about you? You’re looking a little lost. Here with anyone?” she asked, as the bartender placed her drink in front of her.

I took another sip of my drink and nodded towards the door that looked like it went to the backstage area.

“My best friend is the bass player; I’m finally getting to see one of her shows,” I said.

“You’re friends with Synth30?! Or—”

She closed her eyes in concentration for a second.

“Alice is her name, right? They’ve all got stage names,” she explained. “She’s a crazy good bass player! They call her that because she’s as smooth as a synthesizer…not sure where the ‘30’ came from though...”

I nodded in agreement.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “She’s one of the best I’ve seen. I grew up with her, and she’s been learning since we were little kids.”

“Hey!” she said suddenly. “You’re here by yourself; do you want to come stand with Ronye and me for the concert?”

As if on cue, the lights dimmed, signaling that the show was getting ready to start.

I couldn’t see anything wrong with hanging out with them; it was better than standing off alone.

“Sure,” I said. “I don’t think I ever got your name, though?” I asked, as we headed towards the restless crowd.

“Tiese, and you?” she asked, her voice rising a bit as the sound of drums filled the bar.

I looked up to see that the man from the merchandise stand had made his way on stage and had started a steady beat on the big drum set at center stage.

“Eugeo!” I practically yelled over the sound.

She turned her head, but the drums suddenly got louder and drowned out her response.

I could tell she was a bit of an expert when she pulled me by the arm and navigated her way to the front where her friend was jumping up and down excitedly.

The drums were joined by a guitar chord; I looked up to see Alice walking on stage along with a girl with long chestnut brown hair. The girl had her hands on a long light blue and grey guitar, the pitch distorting as she bent the guitar string up and down, much to the joy of the crowd.

Alice waved to me as she went to grab her bass.

The drums picked up pace as Alice hit her first note, and a fourth person made their way on stage, a man dressed head to toe in black, and a pitch-black polished guitar to match. Ronye threw her hands in the air and screamed, so I assumed this must be the lead singer.

He turned his back to the crowd as the other guitar player hit a higher note. I looked at him once again—he certainly looked the part. Dark hair, a black leather jacket, black jeans—

_Jeans that I had seen before,_ I realized, as the lights all turned on at once and he spun around with a “Whoo!” into the microphone. My mind went numb as I realized it was Kazuto, the man that I met at the sandwich shop earlier.

He let out another holler as he started singing their first song. He held the crowd in the palm of his hands; the words rolled off his tongue. How he managed to sing as well as he did while shredding on his guitar was beyond me, and I could only stare in amazement as he jumped around the stage, pumping the entire building up with him.

As the song came to a close, he stopped singing and went into one of the most mind-blowing guitar solos I have ever heard—his fingers moving faster than I could keep up with—before stepping off to the side to allow the brown-haired guitar player to take center stage.

If his skills were unbelievable, hers were one step even better. She matched the tone of his solo but made it her own before he stepped up to challenge her. They went back and forth for a few seconds, their speed on par with each other, the only difference being that he was a bit sloppy at times where she was precise.

He stepped back to the microphone with a laugh before he stopped playing.

“Okay, okay, okay!” he said with a huge grin, waving his hands in front of himself. “I yield, I yield!

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, pointing both hands at the victor, “on lead guitar—The Lightning Flash, Asuna!”

The crowd erupted as he stepped fully to the side, and she took center stage to play loud and victoriously. She stepped aside to make room for Alice to step forward.

“On the bass!” he shouted from the side of the stage, “our human synthesizer, Synth30—Alice!

“On drums!” he called out next, “Our self-proclaimed lady’s man—Klein!”

“Hey—” the man on the drums started, before he was cut off by Kazuto jumping to center stage again.

“—and I’m Kirito!!” he shouted. “Our name is Frontline!”

He ran his hands through his hair as he scanned the crowd.

“And we—”

He seemed to double take as his eyes met mine, locking them together before saying in a much lower voice—

“—are so happy that you decided to join us tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first dive into fanfiction. I hope you enjoy, and I'm open to any suggestions/constructive criticism in the comments! :D
> 
> Also, obviously you're allowed to think that they sound however you want them to sound. BUT if you're curious about how I imagine Frontline sounding, here's a link to the Spotify playlist I use when I'm imagining them performing!  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5dD3YeXoKRf1sOn0WM14Hz?si=Tmd_q0N3SguIi5nwcIUUtQ


End file.
